Disease spotted and treated

 Spots on the espaliered pear

growth hidden on the underside of the leaves

A month ago, when Ciscoe Morris visited us, he pointed out a canker on the lilacs, mentioning it did not look good, and might be hard to get rid of. Then last week when we were touring the garden with another guest, I noticed similar spots, large red and circular on the espaliered pear. Looking underneath seeing the strange cankors, I immediately picked every damaged leaf off the tree and put them in a bag to burn. I don't know if this disease is systemic and will appear on remaining leaves or external and by picking the leaves off,  no spread will happen. I am hopeful the tree will return to health.

October is a hard month for me because I remember being diagnosed with breast cancer, at the beginning of this month. Because of a quick detection and treatment including radiation and chemotherapy, I am alive and cured after 16 years.

I pray for wisdom and peace for those close to me and others who have been diagnosed recently:

• the right doctor and treatment would come quickly,
• be protected from further harm from the wayward cells,
• filled with the Holy Spirt that penetrates the darkness to remove cancer cells and remove them forever.
• God, uphold families as they face difficult times. Surround them with your love.
• wisdom for myself as I separate out my experiences in order to better help others.

Jesus, the light of the world, penetrate the darkness sending out your radiation light to expose and destroy the terrible tumors. Destroy what wants to destroy others and bring healing and health.

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Jesus ,John 8:12

Lessons on Joy

Autumn Crocus

Along the path to the cottage, traveled every day is a seasonal bed of lupines and oriental poppies in the spring, shastas and lemon balm in the summer and in the fall anemone blanda. We clear a space of all but the anemones and soon, always seemingly by surprise the autumn crocus pushes through the ground for its glorious display.

In the blank spaces of life, joy appears, hardly noticeable at first, pushing it's way through the bare soil.  It waits underground often in my life until this time in autumn to make its display.

I have been praying for over a year for joy. "O Lord, open my eyes to see your path of life, the sovereign sight that in your presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures forever more." taken from Psalm 16:12.  Joy began to appear when a friend asked us if we could house Kitty from Shepherd's House last week for 5 days. I was invited to attend one of her talks and when she started to talk about joy, I took notice. I asked it she could see me, so she showed me ways to increase joy through specific cooperative practice.

• 
  
  Meet left eye to left eye with people who are glad to see you, (brain research discovered this goes to a joy center).
• 
  
  Look at circumstances in a different way - not "positive thinking" nor "Polyanna" but looking back or beyond the present with the help of Jesus.
• 
  
  Forming deep relationships with other believers.
• 
  
  Being grateful every day, speaking out loud.

I was skeptical because I have always wanted to be myself, neither having a facade or pretending to be someone else,  nor drumming up joy from my own strength, bucking up. When the prayed-for-joy didn't come, I prayed for wisdom regarding joy  and this week  when Kitty came, the Lord said, "Here are my answers to your prayer for joy."

"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full." John 15:11  (ESV)

Now I have a way to "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.." James 1:2 (ESV)
Thank you LORD for your unfailing love.

Proud as a Peacock

"Proud as a Peacock" showed up at our door and stayed for three months.

The Lord has been talking to me about pride lately. I am a slow learner.
In trying to organize pictures for the book that I’m working on, I discovered this peacock picture, taken about 9 years ago. I remember that he strutted and fanned out of his feathers in front of the cottage door. I thought then that pride was all about blowing your own horn, giving credit to yourself and not to God, not so..
(As an aside, pride is not the reason for the peacock behavior, but a territorial defense and mating ritual, seeing its reflection in our window thinking it was another bird).

Two months ago, August 20, I read a passage about pride from The Best of Andrew Murray on Prayer*, that has stayed with me.

" God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6 NIV

Andrew Murray asked us to offer one prayer to God continuously for a month which I have continued.

“…show me and take from my heart every form of pride...Awaken in me
the depths of humility so that I might be open to Your light and Your Holy
Spirit...O God....(I pray... from the bottom of my heart)...Pain and darkness
results, but meets with Divine Love."
This week a sample of where pride was in the way, the Holy Spirit quenched, and pain resulting:

• What I say: trying to interrupt people with my thoughts and not letting them finish, thinking I will forget what I wanted to say if I don’t. If it is important I won’t forget. Pride keeps me focused on myself and not what others are saying.
• What I like: My husband wanted to throw away an old milk pail bucket filled with what I use to clean the bathroom, kept under the sink and get a plastic bucket instead. I love the old bucket and have intended to make curtains to hide it better so I bristled, besides, he doesn’t clean the bathroom. Pride puts my desires and wishes above other people who may be just testing to see if I love them more than a bucket.
• Defending myself: Arguments in the morning, he criticizing, I arguing back. My pride in the way. Why do I need to defend myself? God knows my circumstances.
• What I look like: A young couple showed up at my door at noon. I was up at six, but with the rainy day, I still had pajamas on. At first I ignored the knock, thinking my husband who was outside would see them, but then I noticed them still there. I had no robe handy so just as I am, I opened the door. I thanked them later for coming and helping me deal with pride in another way.

“But as this prayer of humility is met by divine love, the mercy of God embraces
it. Then your song is changed into songs and thanksgiving.”*

I just realized that the creatures at my door in blog post Focus September 20 was exactly one month from the time I prayed the prayer above. Praise God for his divine love and mercy, blessing and encouragement.

I pray you also might experience His love and mercy and encouragement in a special way this month and hope you might be a faster learner than I.


* Andrew Murray, compiled by Edward A. Elliott, (Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Publishing, Inc., 1997)

Happy Easter

Slightly out of focus flower bouquet for Easter on messy table

Hellebores "Lenten Rose" far left bottom

All week long there have been continual challenges, so I get on my knees and pray. I seem to forget that every Lent there are struggles, not always self imposed but everything out of wack and unusual things happening, like the lights out in the cottage for a week, glass breaking as I carry flowers through the gate in a vase, words from my mouth getting mixed up in the air and ending up in someone elses ear jumbled and distorted.

On Good Friday our pastor made a wooden rugged cross with large nails toward the ends of the crossbar. Several of us including myself, went up to the cross, picked up the hammer laying at its foot and hit the nail with the hammer in recognition of our sins, transgressions and struggles for which Jesus died.

God's grace has been evident in many more ways such as helping in the impossible task of coordinating independent islanders including myself to be on the same page for the program this Easter morning without piano nor pianist Creative minds came up with instrumentals downloaded to ipods and placed on the speaker system so a song leader could lead the songs in the service. Everyone had a part even the children placing flowers at the foot of the rugged wooden cross. Although the day was a cold downpour of rain, the service was beautiful, warm and meaningful. The head of Nightwatch in Seattle came today to preach and without knowing it began by reiterating the emotionally moving pounding of nails in a heavy wooden piece of cross, his wife reading , "He was wounded for our transgressions. "

This week was about how I need to change: the difficulties getting through the week except on my knees, the double pointing out the reason Jesus died for me and the grace now available, the new beginning that is Easter. May everyday be a new beginning for you as well.